There are two main species of bedbugs:                Cimex lectularius (common bed bug); and        Cimex hemipterus (tropical bed bug).        
Bed bugs are parasites that preferentially feed on humans. They are a persistent pest and have developed a number of highly evolved abilities to remain close to humans.
Bed bugs were common in the UK prior to World War II, after which time widespread use of synthetic insecticides such as DDT greatly reduced their numbers. At one stage in the 1930's 25% of all homes in the UK were infested.
In the past decade, bed bugs have begun making a comeback across the world. Although they are not considered to be a major pest or health hazard they can be highly unpleasant to live with and can cause a severe lack of sleep. International travel and commerce are thought to facilitate the spread because eggs, young, and adult bed bugs are readily transported in luggage, clothing, bedding, and furniture. Bed bugs can infest aircraft, ships, trains, and buses. Bed bugs are most frequently found in dwellings with a high rate of occupant turnover, such as hotels, motels, hostels, dormitories, shelters, apartment complexes, tenements, and prisons. Adult bed bugs are brown to reddish-brown, oval-shaped, flattened, and about 0.4 cm to 0.45 cm long. Their flat shape enables them to readily hide in cracks and crevices.
Female bed bugs lay from one to twelve eggs per day, which are deposited on rough surfaces or in cracks and crevices. The eggs are coated with a sticky substance so they adhere to the substrate. Eggs hatch in around 10 days, and nymphs can immediately begin to feed. They require a blood meal in order to moult and develop into the next stage. Bed bugs reach maturity after five moults. Developmental time (egg to adult) is affected by temperature and takes about 21 days at 30° C. to 120 days at 18° C. The nymphal period is greatly prolonged when food is scarce. The adults' lifespan may be as much as 12-18 months and they are known to be able to survive for 12 months between feeds.
Bed bugs are fast moving insects that are nocturnal blood-feeders using a barbed spike to penetrate the skin by repeatedly hammering at the surface. Nymphs may become engorged with blood within three minutes, whereas a full-grown bed bug usually feeds for ten to fifteen minutes. They then crawl away to a hiding place to digest the meal. A full meal may take 3 or 4 days to digest.
Bed bugs hide during the day in dark protected sites; they prefer fabric, wood, and paper surfaces. They usually occur in fairly close proximity to the host, although they can travel relatively large distances. Bed bugs initially can be found in seams, and folds of mattresses, later spreading to crevices in the bedstead.
When infestations are found, hotel rooms in particular may undergo chemical treatments, but not all treatments are effective at killing all forms of the insect, namely: eggs, larvae and adults. As a consequence many of the upmarket hotels take the view that the mattress and soft furnishings should be destroyed. As the mattress is often the most expensive item this is a costly and wasteful exercise.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively cheap and effective method for treating mattresses or other effects to decontaminate them after they have been the subject of an insect infestation, particularly one involving bed bugs.
US 2009/0068071 discloses an apparatus and method for sterilizing, disinfecting, and preserving objects by utilizing both electromagnetic radiation to kill anaerobic pathogens and oxygen depletion to kill aerobic pathogens. The device used comprises a canister constructed in order to achieve and maintain a vacuum into which the target object is placed. Airtight valves in the apparatus allow air to be evacuated and nitrogen to be pumped in.
The applicant is however unaware of any research into the killing of bed bugs using oxygen depletion.